Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Primary Health Care and Sustainable Utilisation of Natural Resources in Malawi: Opportunities and Challenges for Scientific Information Access Prof. S. Sosten Chiotha, University of Malawi The 1998 World Development Report indicated that in promotion of economic and social well being, knowledge is as critical to development as are labour and capital. This conference is relevant to that line of thinking as it discusses and reviews the current status of practice for sharing of and permanent access to scientific information resources related to sustainable development. Focus areas include primary health care, biodiversity, and the fact that indigenous knowledge is relevant and can substantially supplement scientific knowledge. The importance of indigenous knowledge is based on evidence where local communities have turned to it to solve problems in public health, food security, and preservation of biodiversity. Malawi was chosen to illustrate the role of indigenous knowledge in primary health care and sustainable utilisation of natural resources because its population is predominantly rural (80%). Many Malawians still depend on local indigenous knowledge to meet their livelihood needs. Through collaboration with local people, a number of useful plants were identified in the 1970s using both scientific and indigenous taxonomic systems. This documentation included related local practices for livelihoods and formed the basis for further scientific research on the potential for pharmaceutical products, soil fertility enrichment, edible indigenous fruits and vegetables, and so on. Indigenous knowledge also contributed to the classification of the fishes of Lake Malawi, which has the highest species diversity of fish when compared to any other fresh water lake in the world. Based on indigenous knowledge, for example, the feeding behaviour of the fishes was noted and with scientific validation some of the fish have been identified as potential biological control agents for schistosomiasis. Lessons have also been drawn on the way local communities managed to regenerate indigenous forests and manage fishery stocks, the result being an increase in biodiversity. Hence Indigenous knowledge not only offers direct benefit to the local communities but also opportunity for further scientific research. There are challenges that are relevant to this workshop. Indigenous knowledge is still based in rituals and oral tradition, and with aging of the custodians, some knowledge might be lost. The HIV/AIDS pandemic may also accelerate the loss of knowledge. Further, publications based on indigenous knowledge might not be accessed locally, resulting in researchers knowing more than the locals, particularly the younger generations. With the rapid loss of biodiversity, practices and knowledge related to plants or animals may also be lost. Hence permanent access to scientific information should include having natural resources protected so that access is not solely to book information but to natural habitats and ecosystems as well.